Texans RB coach Danny Barrett tells backs to stop thinking, just play

Texans RB coach Danny Barrett tells backs to stop thinking, just play

Don’t be fooled by football’s physicality; it is a mental game. But Houston Texans RB coach Danny Barrett wants his players to think less.

“I like to tell the guys, ‘We’re on the football field playing and not thinking. Let’s take the thinking out of the equation,'” Barrett said on June 5 in the team’s final week of organized team activities.

That is not to say that Barrett doesn’t want his players to know their assignments or keys when certain plays are called. Rather, he sets boundaries on when and where players should ponder the game.

Said Barrett: “We think in the meeting room, get it all done. On the football field, it’s cut it loose and go and being decisive. I think that’s the key for a good pass catcher.”

One point of emphasis for backs in coach Bill O’Brien’s offense is to be pass-catchers. Running back Lamar Miller caught 36 passes last season, the second-most on the team behind receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Miller’s 327 receiving yards were the fifth-most on the team and his three receiving touchdowns finished third-best for Houston.

The ability to catch passes out of the backfield will be critical in a season where the Texans have great ambiguity at tight end with veteran C.J. Fiedorowicz calling it a career. If Miller and the rest of the running back corps, which comprises Tyler Ervin, Alfred Blue, Troymaine Pope, Lavon Coleman, Terry Swanson, and D’Onta Foreman, can provide reliable targets for quarterback Deshaun Watson, then the question mark at tight end doesn’t immediately need to be addressed.

“Everything is about knowing your assignment,” said Barrett. “Obviously, people talk about the ability to catch the ball and run routes but I think you give yourself credit when you know what to do.”

Barrett knows that his backs will be able to be better pass-catchers in 2018 so long as Watson keeps defenses anxious about his dual threat abilities.

“You always know you have to have a guy like that in this league, but also now the running backs, some of that can be taken off of their shoulders because you have to keep your eyes on (Watson) at all times,” Barrett said. “So, they have to understand it as well. But when it’s their turn to carry the football, we have to make sure we do our job.”

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